Dot hack AGI
by Rogue A.I
Summary: Slightly AU, Rated for violence. Tales of vagrant AIs how they grow, how they bend system rules, and how they leave an impact on us all after their deletion by the Cobalt Knights.
1. 1a Creation

_.hack//AGI- Tales of Artificial Intelligence_

Helba hummed softly, tapping away at her keyboard. Her eyes scanned the code, and she tilted her head slightly.

"Might as well leave some farewell gifts." She typed in some more code, and uploaded it to The World''s server.

Character Generator Online. . .

CREATION

The dungeon was filled with static as a shadow began to form. It was a faint image of a person, and it began to become tangible. The person was floating in mid air horizontally. Three blue rings, reminiscent of the golden rings from Chaos Gates, encircled the person, and when they faded, a completed avatar hovered in the air. A girl with closed eyes, an orange circle underneath her left eye and long red hair hung there, wearing a short orange dress and elbow-length orange gloves. Her eyes snapped open, and one could see that they were grey.

She slowly fell, landing on her boot-covered feet. She looked around, seeing for the first time.

_Mac Anu_

The twin blade stood at the Chaos Gate, sifting through keywords. Her short blue and purple hair moved in the artificial breeze, and her azure eyes were narrowed with concentration. She had a turquoise line that stretched across under her right eye. She wore a sleeveless blue vest, and blue shorts. Suddenly, a wavemaster shouted to her,

"Oi! Aoiro! Want to go to a dungeon?" The player, Aoiro, replied,

"Buzz off, baka! I'm busy!" The wavemaster roared back at her,

"My name is Baku, not baka! You better watch your back in the fields!" She rolled her eyes, and gated out, golden rings fading as she did too.

_Delta, Closed Oblivious Remnant_

When Aoiro gated in, a violent sight caught her eyes. A player dressed mostly in orange was being attacked by three players, a Long Arm, Heavy Blade and Heavy Axeman. She cursed as she realised the girl was standing still, and not doing anything. She shouted,

"Hey, cowards!" As the Long Arm turned towards her, she ran past him, her Tsumuji blades slashing right through the Long Arm's side. As he fell back, intending to heal, Aoiro turned her sights to the Heavy Axeman, who swung his axe at her. She leapt into the air, landing on the flat of the axe, and slashed the Axeman in the neck with both blades. He stumbled, flashing red, and the Heavy Blade lashed out at her. She caught the blades with both of her own, blades crossed and holding the heavy sword up. She then launched into a backflip, landing behind the Long Arm, her blades at his throat. She slashed across it, and the player fell forwards, greying. The Axeman, who hadn't stopped to heal, swung at Aoiro. She leapt back, axe blade barely missing her torso, and she lunged at him, stabbing him twice in the stomach. He fell backwards, greying. Finally, the Heavy Blade backed away, and Aoiro stood before him.

"Don't kill me!" Aoiro rolled her eyes.

"Newbie killers don't deserve to live." She threw her left Tsumuji out, and it halted just before the Heavy Blade's throat. His eyes widened.

"Please d-don't kill me...it was Baku's fault! He told us to go out and hunt newbies!" He gibbered, and Aoiro sighed. Baku was an influential guild master, ruling through fear. She feigned understanding, nodding sympathetically.

"He forced you, didn't he? 'If the newbs don't join the guild when you ask them, kill them', yeah?" She asked, and the Heavy Blade nodded. She smirked. "You're the bigger fool for following him." She let her blade stab the player in the neck, and she brought her other blade round into his stomach. The player collapsed, greying. She then walked over to the girl, sheathing her Tsumuji.

"Sorry you had to see that so soon. Are you a newb?" The girl stared at her.

_Attacking- acceptable protocol_. The girl processed what she had watched, and lashed out with a sword that appeared out of nowhere, catching Aoiro in the arm. Aoiro gasped with shock, and leapt back. "What are you doing?! Answer me!" Although it had caused a very small amount of damage, Aoiro was not impressed.

"Answer me." The girl replied. Aoiro growled, frustrated.

"Stop copying me, it's annoying! What's your level, how long have you been playing? What's your name?" Her interest was piqued by the odd girl, even though she was irritated.

"...annoying...level...playing." The girl seemed to merely echo the twin blade.

_Playing...processing. Blademaster. Character name is Sodachi_. The girl suddenly responded.

"Level 1 Blademaster. Character name is Sodachi." She repeated what she had found. Aoiro frowned, looking at the player.

"You're different, kid...Want me to show you around?" Sodachi's grey eyes still stared at Aoiro, and the twin blade could see a hint of orange in the eyes.

"Show around... Delta Server Mac Anu. Coding..." Aoiro stared at the girl in surprise as she talked nonsense. It sounded technical.

"You're...not a player character, are you?" Sodachi nodded.

"According to the database...I am not a PC, I am not an NPC." Aoiro whistled, looking at her.

"You're like a child...I know! I'll teach you about this game! Come on!" She sent Sodachi a party invite, and the girl automatically accepted it. "We'll gate out now. But first, there's something you'd better learn." Aoiro folded her arms. "You must not attack other people. You can only attack them if you agree to a PvP, a little duel. People who attack other players are called Player Killers. They are bad. If people attack you or a friend, you are allowed to kill them." She lectured Sodachi, and Sodachi froze, adding the information to her internal database, before nodding. Golden rings encircled the two as they gated out.

_CC Corp Offices_

Shibayama, player name Kamui, turned to Saito, player name Magi, and spoke coldly.

"You've found an irregularity in the coding? I wonder if some immature little hacker is trying to insert Vagrant AIs into the server again. This is the third time this week that you've found an irregularity. I shall log in now."


	2. 1b

COMPREHENSION 

It had been a week since Aoiro had met little Sodachi, and she logged on every day after she returned home from school.

"Aoiro! Aoiro!" The orange blademaster ran to the twin blade, her once grey eyes now fully orange. Aoiro smiled, and stepped forwards from the Chaos Gate. Sodachi asked her keenly, "What did you learn at school?" Aoiro took her gloved hand, and led her through Mac Anu and onto the bridge. She leaned against the railings, and replied,

"Well, in English we learnt how to talk about injuries!" Sodachi looked up at Aoiro, confused. Aoiro laughed. "Sodachi, when monsters hit you, it feels bad, doesn't it?" Sodachi, who had been out training with Aoiro, nodded, hugging her knees. "That feeling is called pain." Sodachi murmured the word over and over. "If you get hurt, you get injured!" Sodachi processed it, and nodded. Aoiro was proud of the Vagrant AI. "Sodachi-chan learns fast!" She patted Sodachi's head, and then realised that Sodachi's head reached up to her neck. "Sodachi-chan grows up fast too..." Sodachi smiled, still slightly immature but rapidly developing. Suddenly, golden rings faded away, and several players logged in. Aoiro's smile disappeared as she recognised the newcomers as the players she had killed. Sodachi's face suddenly became grim. Aoiro folded her arms, tensed up and ready for confrontation. A wavemaster clad in shades of grey appeared, walking onto the bridge, and stopping on front of Aoiro. The twin blade stepped in front of Sodachi protectively. "Hello, baka. What do you want?" Baku, who had planned to play it cool and make Aoiro look bad, was interrupted by a giggling sound. He stepped back, blustering, and saw Sodachi laughing. Baku growled,

"And who is this newb?" Sodachi was about to reply in turn when Aoiro privately talked to her.

**Whisper: Sodachi, listen to me. Pretend to be a human, alright? If you don't, he might try and do something bad. Sodachi then replied snidely**,

"Oh, you don't need to worry your little head about that. Are we interrupting you?" Baku laughed darkly.

"Aoiro, you've already contaminated this player. She acts just like you." Sodachi cut him off,

"Well, are we interrupting something? I guess so. We'll leave you in peace and go somewhere where we won't run into rude noobs like you. How about Sigma Server?" Baku shook his head.

"And she lies too! I bet you aren't strong enough to go to Sigma." Aoiro, unsure of what to say, was suddenly dragged to the Chaos Gate by Sodachi, who waved cutely to Baku before disappearing. Baku sent a Flash Mail to one of his stronger guild members.

_To: Loki _

_From: Baku _

_Subject: noobs_

_Can you go to Sigma server? I want you to find two players called Sodachi and Aoiro._

_Lambda Server_

A Long Arm received a FM, and sighed. He walked to the Chaos Gate and switched servers.

_Sigma Server_

Aoiro appeared at Fort Ouph with Sodachi in tow. The twin blade turned to Sodachi with disbelief.

_Party (Aoiro): Sodachi, how did you get here? You can hack, can't you?_

_Party (Sodachi): No, I just wanted to be here, so I got here. Besides, I'm sure Baka-san will find out we're here. Aoiro shook her head in delight and surprise at Sodachi's daring. The AI was turning into a clone of her, and she was acting more human-like with every day that passed. A Long Arm appeared at the Chaos Gate, looked at the two gathered, and promptly disappeared._

_Party (Sodachi): That must have been one of Baku's men. Can we go train? Aoiro nodded. It would be best to get stronger, so that they were truly worthy of accessing Sigma. That, and she would have to fend off Baku's men._

_Party (Aoiro): Let's go to a random Theta field.  
_Sodachi nodded, and suddenly they disappeared.

_Theta, Developing His Battleground_

A bewildered Aoiro turned to Sodachi, still talking in Party Mode so that they couldn't be eavesdropped on.

_Party (Aoiro): You didn't tell me you could teleport without touching a Chaos Gate!_ Sodachi shrugged.

_Party (Sodachi): You didn't ask..._

Aoiro ran up to a monster portal, activating it, and leapt back as a Menhir cast a thunder spell. Sodachi drew her Jinsaran blade and ran up to the Menhir, slashing it. The Menhir slammed into her, and she cried out, still attacking. Aoiro cast La Repth on the blademaster, and Sodachi leapt back to avoid an attack. She then jumped into the air, shouting,

"Vak Revolver!" She hit the Menhir several times with a fiery blade, and the monster greyed. Sodachi landed, smiling. "That wasn't too hard!" Suddenly, a Long Arm appeared, the player from before, and Aoiro stepped back. The Long Arm ran at Aoiro, and the twin blade barely blocked the spear blade, hands shaking. Sodachi called out a skill name as she attacked the Long Arm while he was occupied. "Vak Revolver!" The Long Arm laughed at the damage he received. His malevolent yellow eyes stared coldly at them.

"I don't know how you got into Sigma, but it was obviously illegal. You can't fend me off...weaklings." He then turned to Sodachi, and slashed at her.

"SODACHI!" Aoiro leapt in front of her, and took the brunt of the blow. Her boots greyed, and she fell to her knees. As her legs turned grey, she spoke dully, "Get out of here...he's too strong." Her body greyed, and finally it reached her head. She fell forwards, dead. Sodachi's eyes narrowed, and she shouted at the Long Arm,

"You killed Aoiro!!" The AI found herself feeling an emotion known as anger for the first time in her brief life span, and she ran up to the Long Arm, slashing at him. He blocked with ease, and then impaled her with his spear. Her eyes widened in shock, and she stepped back as the Long Arm withdrew his spear. She collapsed, and as the Long Arm gated out, the party's bodies faded.

_Dun Loireag_

Aoiro appeared at the Chaos Gate, and realised that all the party must have died to end up back in the Root Town. She screamed,

"Sodachi! Where are you?" She remembered that Sodachi only existed inside the game, and looked around wildly, beginning to cry. She sobbed, running shakily around the town until she bumped into the Long Arm from before. Her eyes burned with a rage that surprised the malicious player, and he stepped back. Suddenly, an orange blademaster appeared at the Chaos Gate, and walked slowly towards Aoiro. The twin blade gasped, hugging the player, suddenly seeing that her head only reached up to her chest.

"Who...are...you?" The orange girl seemed to recognise Aoiro, but was...different. Aoiro realised what had happened, and shook her head in disbelief.

"Sodachi...does that mean every time you die, you...lose progress? When did you last save?" Aoiro was frantic with worry, and Sodachi looked up at the Long Arm, who was baffled by the odd conversation.

"I..." Her eyes cleared, comprehension dawning, and she replied, "I saved before we went to the field...if I go and load now, I will be better!" She focused on the Long Arm's yellow eyes, which were reminiscent of an event, and she suddenly remembered. Sodachi drew her sword, and the Long Arm stared.

"You c-can't attack in the server!" Aoiro found that she could draw her weapons, and did so with evil delight. She didn't care that Sodachi was bending the rules in front of everyone, and in her fury forgot that players might realise that something odd was happening. The Long Arm tried to draw his spear, but couldn't, and Sodachi ran at him, hitting him with less power than before, and Aoiro slashed at him until he glowed red. He cried out in fear, and Sodachi's blade was now at his throat. She laughed.

"Player Killers will be punished!" She drew her sword across his throat, sheathing it as the player greyed and faded away. Aoiro sighed with relief as Sodachi loaded at the Recorder's, and suddenly shot up. She suddenly appeared more mature, no longer a little girl, now a teenager.

_To: Kamui _

_From: Loki _

_Subject: Hacker?  
_

_A player killed me in a root town, and she and her friend were able to draw her sword when I couldn't use my weapon! The player's name was Sodachi._


	3. 1c

REALISATION 

Aoiro frowned as the armoured Long Arms gated into the Lambda Server, marching around. Even she knew who the Cobalt Knights were, and she knew that they meant business. She checked her member address list, noticing Sodachi was online, if not here. She had told Sodachi to go into hiding after she read a post warning against hacking on the Message Board, and as soon as she heard from a burly Heavy Axeman that the Knights were patrolling, she chased Sodachi off. It was a shame though, the two had been having a really interesting discussion about reality, and Plato's allegory of the cave. Aoiro marvelled at Sodachi's mental and physical growth. The AI was now as tall as her, and was a genius! The twin blade wondered if the AI could access the internet, and find out information and learn. Sodachi also knew some English, and had begged Aoiro to teach her. Aoiro sent a quick Flash Mail to the orange blademaster.

_To: Sodachi _

_From: Aoiro _

_Subject: The Knights _

_They're searching everywhere! I don't suppose you have secret diguise powers that you can magically use? If so, you may want to change your appearance-_

A Blademaster paused before her, and asked,

"Do you know of a blademaster player named Sodachi?" Aoiro was mystified.

"You're looking for a player? Have they done something bad?" She then finished darkly, "I would ask a wavemaster called Baku. The guild leader of the Crusniks. He has all sorts of disreputable players. He has PKs and newbie killers working for him." The Blademaster, intrested in this character, replied,

"Crusnik? Isn't that from a really old anime?" Aoiro nodded vaguely.

"I don't think it's that old...I forget which one." The Blademaster thanked her and walked off. Aoiro finished the FM urgently.

_-and you need to change your name. They're looking for you!_ She sent it, panicking, and suddenly a Heavy Axe girl dressed in green appeared at the Chaos Gate. She had wings, and Aoiro remembered the common character design. The girl walked up to her, and spoke after the last Knight disappeared in golden rings,

"Hello Aoiro! My name is Midori...that name inconspicuous enough?" Aoiro recognised the voice, and upon checking her member address list, she found no Sodachi, but a Midori. She grinned, nodding. Suddenly, a Long Arm appeared at the gate, marching up to Aoiro, his yellow eyes glaring powerfully. Aoiro smirked, the player having harangued her before.

"Yo Loki. Something wrong?" Loki replied, tone thick with hatred,

"Where's your little hacker friend?" Aoiro glanced at Midori, hoping she was wise enough not to react, and the twin blade replied sweetly,

"I don't know. She hasn't logged on in a while. Said something about being banned from the computer by her parents. Say, did I introduce you to my friend Midori? She's American, and she's playing on this server to further her Japanese learning." The vine-green heavy axe smiled warmly, waving. Loki shook his head vehemently.

"Don't give me that rubbish. Thanks to you, Baku is in trouble. CC Corp sent him to a prison field and he can't log out." Aoiro's smile grew into a huge beaming grin, and she replied,

"That's great! Have you got any more good news?" Loki, insulted further, responded threateningly.

"I challenge your friend to a duel. If she says no, you'll both lose face." Aoiro, unsure of Midori's level, was about to reply, when Midori spoke for her gently,

"That's a dirty trick!" She sounded cheerful. "Meet you at Omega, Carnivorous Law's Touchstone!" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Don't lie about your level. Meet me in Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field." He ran to the gate, disappearing, and Midori took Aoiro's arm, sending her a party invite. Aoiro accepted, and Midori walked to the Chaos Gate, fading, as did Aoiro.

_Lambda, Bursting Passed over Aqua Field_

By the time Midori and Aoiro appeared, a hefty number of Baku's supporters were there, and they looked as if they were rioting. Loki charged at Midori without giving her a chance to adjust to the field. In one fluid move, Midori deflected the blow, and swung horizontally at Loki, cutting him in half. He greyed immediately, and she smiled cutely, turning to the watchers,

"I don't suppose you want some?" A Wavemaster that sent a summon spell at her was cut down literally by her. Aoiro laughed as the supporters rushed to gate out. Suddenly, a Long Arm woman appeared, accompanied by a wavemaster. The wavemaster, who wore glasses and had short hair, opened a book and pointed it at Midori. The heavy axewoman couldn't move, and suddenly she began to disintegrate. Aoiro took a step forwards, throwing her hand out, but stopped as she saw it was merely the green that disintegrated, leaving Sodachi behind. The lady nodded, throwing her spear out and stopping, pointing the tip at Sodachi. Aoiro stood in front of Sodachi at once.

"Magi, seal off the area." The wavemaster, Magi, nodded obediently, tracing her fingers over the book. The Long Arm then spoke coldly,

"Move out of the way, player. I am deleting this Vagrant AI." Aoiro shook her head, but Sodachi pushed her aside gently, hanging her head.

"Kamui is right. But I wish to challenge her." The Long Arm, Kamui, was startled at the AI's ability to scan characters and find their names. Aoiro stood on the sidelines, wishing she could stop Kamui. Sodachi looked resolute, and she spoke, "I understand that I have broken laws. It was foolish of me. But Kamui, you keep the justice. Why do you let Player Killers and newbie killers get away with their crimes?" Kamui replied,

"You have no right to call me by my name, AI. I swore I would protect this World, and you are threatening it." Sodachi replied almost inaudibly,

"And what of Aura? Does she threaten or protect the World?" Kamui stiffened, reminded of the Twilight Incident in which...Watarai...left. She tensed, and recited mechanically,

"I, Kamui, delete this Vagrant AI." Her spear glowed, and Aoiro rushed forwards,

"No!" The light faded, and Sodachi waved goodbye as she dissolved, speaking her last words,

"Aoiro-chan...an end can be a beginning!" She sounded like the little girl she originally was, and Aoiro, transfixed to the spot, began to weep. Kamui turned to her.

"And you have broken the User Agreement of CC Corp, so we have no choice but to delete this character." The twin blade stood frozen, thinking, 'So Baku won after all...' as the spear flew towards her.

EPILOGUE

Soudachi the blademaster killed her final monster, panting. She smiled as she checked her level, and drank a Healing Potion. She had read on the Message Board a post about Newbie killing, and how the strong users of the World had formed a group that dealt out justice. What was the name of the group? The Scarlet Knights. She had read it was a tribute to an earlier group that had existed. She was nearly strong enough to enter Sigma...She felt a pang in her heart as she remembered her past character, and Sodachi. They were going to enter Sigma together...she rubbed her head, and the smile returned slightly. She was playing as a tribute to the AI who had been a friend to her, and justice was finally being dealt. She looked up into the bright sky, and murmured,

"I wonder what's happening in the field where I met her." She gated out, golden rings fading like the light of Kamui's spear.


	4. 2a

.hack//AGI- Tales of Artificial General Intelligence 

DISCERNING

The grey-clad wavemaster stood atop the fragrant grass, arms folded. He sneered at the fearful Heavy Blade that stood before him.

"Will you join Crusniks?" He asked, his face as stony as the colour of his robes. The Heavy Blade was silent, trying to figure out what would be best to do in the situation. The wavemaster took his silence as a negative response, and raised his arm. "Kill him." He turned and walked away as two heavy axes charged at the player. There was a single yell, and the two axemen sheathed their axes as the torn player collapsed and greyed.

The azure blue eyes narrowed, taking in the spectacle. A young voice, not broken yet, mused,

"Maybe this wavemaster should be taught a lesson..." The grey-robed wavemaster gated out.

_Mac Anu_

The wavemaster gated in, smirking, and stood upon the bridge. His game was going well. His guild was the most powerful, and his rule was complete. Suddenly, a new player gated in. The wavemaster looked him over. The arrival was a young boy with a cherubic face, and long robes. He had a blue teardrop wave tattoo on his left cheek. The wavemaster considered asking the newbie to join, but the newbie took the initiative, wandering over to him.

"Excuse me, are you Baku-san, guild leader of the Crusniks?" Baku, the grey wavemaster, nodded with pride. Even a newbie knew his name. The boy then glanced around with a conspirator's air, and then spoke quietly,

"Have you heard?" Baku was intriguied by the cryptic remark, and humoured the player, replying,

"Have I heard what?" The boy smiled.

"Rumor has it that...there are legendary weapons that are level 99, one for each class. Also, they have special abilities!" Baku's eyes glinted at the speculation. He greedily responded, almost begging,

"Give me the keywords!" The boy blinked, and then said,

"I don't know them. It might only be a rumor after all, and you don't have a discerning ear yet." Baku, in his lack of understanding, took the comment for an insult, and poked the boy threateningly.

"What do you mean by that?" The boy, cool as ice, retorted,

"It might not be true. Depending on the reward..." He chose his words carefully, "I could try to find out where they are." Baku, overcome with greed, replied madly,

"Anything! Just find the words, and I'll reward you!" The boy nodded, and finished,

"I'll go look for them now. I'll FM you if I find anything." He was at the Chaos Gate before he began to chuckle. This was easier than it looked! He gated out...


	5. 2b

_Gravitation_

Helba looked down at the boyish wavemaster, sighing.

"Rumor, you cause no end of trouble! Alright... I'll code those 'special' weapons before I quit..." She smiled at the look of horror on Rumor's face. "There'll be a replacement." She typed for a few minutes, then smirked. "That wasn't too hard. Oh, you may want to watch out for...side-effects." Rumor, picking up on the mischief in the hacker's tone, laughed, and gated out after thanking her.

_To: Baku _

_From: Rumor _

_Subject: Found them_

_Delta, Discovered Hidden Law._

**Delta, Discovered Hidden Law**

Rumor counted the golden rings as two parties full of players gated in. Baku, a Long Arm and a Twin Blade were in one, and a Heavy Blade, a Heavy Axeman and a Blademaster were in the other. Rumor waved, smiling.

"I heard it was at the bottom of the dungeon!" Baku shouted,

"Well, you heard him. Get going!" The Twin Blade cast Ap Do on everyone, and they took off at a high speed. After the last player entered the dungeon, Rumor grinned and raised his staff, disappearing in purple rings.

_Floor 5_

Baku sighed, panting slightly.

"I've recharged my SP. This dungeon is tough." The yellow-eyed long arm shook his head.

"You weren't even fighting. You were healing." Baku shook his fist at the long arm.

"That hurts, Loki. You should be glad that I chose you to have the legendary weapon." The blademaster rolled his eyes and walked into the next room. The group followed him-

The blademaster hit the ground before he started greying. Baku froze at the doorway, and Loki leapt under a tentacle. The twin blade, Fenris, cast a SP recharging charm on Baku, and the delay was all it took for a tentacle to impale the twin blade. The tentacle was withdrawn, and the remaining players managed to look up at the monstrous creature. It looked like a monstrous giant plant. Baku took advantage of the cover of the doorway, and as the Heavy Blade, Sulfr, managed to chop the tip of a tentacle off, the wavemaster cast Rip Maen upon the blademaster and Fenris while Loki spun his spear in his hand, deflecting tentacles that whipped against the shaft. Baku cast Ola Repth upon them, and the Heavy Axeman issued commands,

"We need to work in parties, and Baku will heal. The speedy players will distract the monster, while the slower ones will get up close and take out this thing! Go!" Fenris and Loki gestured with their weapons at the plant, who was stuck to the opposite wall. The numerous tentacles lashed at them. Loki managed to sever one or two, while Fenris ducked and jumped over them. The Blademaster, Yggdrasil, dodged a tentacle and lopped off another. Meanwhile, Sulfr charged at the plant while it played with the other fighters, and struck it a glancing blow. The plant roared, and literally threw the heavy blade aside with a tentacle. Sulfr hit the wall heavily, and Baku was quick to heal. Suddenly, a black tentacle launched at the Heavy Axeman, Asgard. His eyes widened, and he managed to move to the left, the tentacle nicking his ankle instead of his chest. The plant was still attacking the distractions. As Sulfr charged again, Fenris gave a cry upon regarding Asgard. Both of his legs were grey, and upon closer examination, they were stony. As the colour slowly spread upwards, Loki exclaimed in terror,

"I thought they took this status effect out of the game! It's like crystallization...petrification! This monster isn't normal!" Asgard, already fixed in place, frantically used a restorative and an antidote, but to no avail. His eyes were widened again with fear as it reached his arms, chest and lower body already stoned. He gasped, and finally the grey reached his face, leaving a statue. Sulfr struck the plant again, and Baku used healing spells on the statue in vain. Yggdrasil called,

"I read once that if your character gets damaged while crystallized, it would be corrupted beyond repair! I played older versions of this game, and it happened to a friend called Mimika!" He ducked underneath a tentacle, and another vine shot straight at the statue. Loki leapt in front of it, and it pierced right through him. His eyes dilated before closing, and he greyed too. As Sulfr dealt out another hit, the plant screeched, and suddenly the air was thick with green dots. Baku frowned, and he was about to speak when Yggdrasil shouted,

"Don't open your mouth!" Baku stopped, and Yggdrasil realised what he had done. He began to panic, and Sulfr took advantage of the confusion to hit the monster several times. The air cleared, and Baku witnessed first-hand why he had been told to keep his mouth shut. Yggdrasil was twitching, and suddenly, a vine similar to that of the plant's burst from his chest. He fell backwards, greying. Only Baku, Sulfr and Fenris were left. Baku shouted,

"I've never seen this thing before! What is it?" Fenris leapt out of the way of a vine, and shouted back,

"A monster from old versions! It got taken out because it was too uber-powered, and a whole party couldn't take it down! The difference is that we have two parties!" Suddenly, a tentacle wrapped around him, and he shouted in shock. The plant was absorbing his life. Then the plant threw the greying body away. Sulfr cursed.

"All our work undone! There was to be a way-" He was cut off by several tentacles, and promptly died. Baku swore until the air was blue, and threw an earth spell at the plant. The effect was catastrophic, and the plant was obliterated. Baku's mouth fell open.

"...oh." He resurrected everyone, and when they were all upright, they stared at the monster's greying corpse.

"...all we had to do was use a spell?" Loki also let out a few choice words, turning to the statue. Suddenly, the stone cracked, and the layer of rock was shedded. Asgard blinked, and congratulated them on winning. They entered the last room nervously to see six treasure chests.

"Looks like the spoils are ours, gentlemen!" Yggdrasil spoke.


	6. 2c

Baku targeted a treasure chest, and read the description. 

"Wavemaster's treasure... Mine!" He walked to it, and the other guild members stood at theirs. They all opened it, and there was a shining light. When it faded, everyone was wielding wicked black weapons. Yggdrasil examined it. It was a jagged black blade with a golden handle and hilt. There was a golden eye carved on the hilt. He smiled and spoke,

"My sword is called the Sodachi Sword." Baku's face darkened for a moment, and Fenris looked at his twin blades. They looked like small lightning bolts, with the matching gold hilt and handles, and the eyes.

"Mine are called Jinsoku." Sulfr hefted his heavy blade up. It was formidable, a much larger version of Yggdrasil's weapon. He read the name out,

"My heavy blade is called Seiryoku." Asgard critically regarded his axe. It had a gold shaft and a jagged black blade. The eye was in-between the bladed sides. He added,

"Kyoukou. This looks like it'll do some damage!" He swung it powerfully, laughing evilly. Loki, having been quiet, scanned his weapon. It was a spear with a black shaft and a gold blade. An eye was carved into the gold.

"Zaigou." Baku's staff was a fine one, with a velvet black handle and two jagged gold spikes. In the middle of the spikes was a point with an eye carved in. He read the name,

"Tsukimono. I want to get out there and use the ability!" Everyone used various Sprite Ocarinas to gate out of the dungeon.

_Field_

Rumor stood among the flowers, and spotted the figures from a distance. He walked up to Baku, and asked politely,

"May I have my reward now?" He fought to keep a grin hidden, and his prediction of Baku's actions proved correct as Baku stepped forwards, speaking coldly,

"Yes, here's your reward." He nodded to Yggdrasil, who charged at Rumor. The boyish wavemaster raised his staff casually, and a large yellow creature appeared. When the numerous lightning bolts faded, a dead blademaster lay on the floor. Rumor pointed his staff at Baku.

"If you kill me, you won't figure out how to use the special power." He spoke matter-of-factly, and Baku cursed as he realised Rumor was correct. He sighed, and replied,

"Alright. You can be second-in-command in my guild if you tell me." Rumor nodded, delighted,

"You go to the ability menu, and select the question mark ability." Baku, knowing when to give up, added Rumor to his guild and promoted him to second-in-command; he didn't want to be humiliated by the wavemaster. He then opened his ability menu, selecting '???'.

His staff glowed, and nothing visibly happened. The glow faded, and Rumor resurrected Yggdrasil with a spell. Baku explained how to use the ability to the blademaster, and tried again. He frowned, and Rumor waved goodbye, with a farewell,

"Sometimes it takes practice to work. I heard that it can delete a player!" Baku, who was visibly annoyed, heard the statement and was placated. Rumor faded away amidst golden rings.

_Net Slums_

Helba chuckled at Rumor upon his narration of the tale.

"Every time he uses the ability, a FM is sent to Kamui notifying her of a cheat item. Same with everyone else's weapons. Rumor, I hate to say this, but you might even be cleverer than me!" The hacker's tinkly laugh was heard again, and Rumor grinned.

"And justice is served! I have another plan..." Helba groaned.

"Not another! At this rate, I'll be playing until I'm ninety!"

_Field_

A Long Arm and Wavemaster appeared. The wavemaster opened her book, and the entire field glowed. Baku and his cronies frowned, walking up to the duo. The Long Arm looked at his unusual weapon, and smirked.

"Stop right there, cheaters. You can't log out. I was notified of cheat items many times, and it turned out to be useful!" Baku stepped back, realising that he had been played for a fool. He raised his staff, casting a strong fire spell at the long arm. The wavemaster raised her book again, and the fire seemed to reflect off of the long arm, hitting Asgard. The axeman was enraged at the attack, and promptly cut Baku in half. He then ran at the long arm. She laughed darkly. "Attacking the leader of the Cobalt Knights? You are asking for trouble. Well, better begin. I, Kamui of the Cobalt Knights, hereby delete these hackers!" The wavemaster pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose, book still open. Kamui's spear glowed, and she impaled Asgard. His eyes widened as his character burst into fragments. The axe shattered, and faded. Yggdrasil revived Baku, and then charged at Kamui. The long arm batted aside the sword, and leapt at Fenris. He was taken aback by the unexpected attack, and was dealt a heavy blow, a huge gash in his side. He frowned, and suddenly exploded into fragments. Baku was horrified, and walked backwards.

"N-no!" Kamui dispatched Sulfr with a blow to the neck, and Baku was forced to watch the elite of his guild being deleted with brutal efficiency. Loki, having watched, stabbed at Kamui, but was repelled with strength. He blinked, unable to believe the ease with which he was beaten back. She then ended him, catching his arm, and he broke into fragments. With an air of finality, Kamui advanced upon Yggdrasil. She decided to play with him, and struck his sword, which shattered. Suddenly, a ghostly blademaster appeared for a moment before fading, and both Kamui and Baku were shocked. The long arm regained her composure, swiftly snuffing out Yggdrasil's character. Kamui then stabbed Baku, and he exploded into fragments immediately.

_Mac Anu_

Rumor checked his guild panel to see that Baku had been removed, and he was now the leader. He posted an announcement,

"This guild is disbanded. Baku met his end, and those of you who resemble him will find a similar fate." He disbanded the guild, and smiled. He looked up into the sky, where a phantom image of an orange blademaster appeared.


	7. 3a

_.hack//AGI- Tales of Artificial Intelligence_

_Empathy_

The player behind Kamui rubbed her eyes, exhaustion evident. It was late, but she would not rest until all irregularities were wiped out. She had promised Watarai she would protect The World for him...and look where it had gotten her, she mused bitterly. Watarai had disappeared, and she couldn't reach him by telephone or email. She reckoned that if she truly needed to contact him, she could look him up...but what was the point? He didn't want to be found.

She stood up, picking up her water bottle, and taking a large draught. She was rather thirsty. She sighed, and remembered what had happened to Watarai after that one AI got away. It seemed to have done something serious to him, it must have touched the very core of his soul. He always talked to her about God in the final few days...and then Alberio was deleted. The Spear of Wotan, the only sign of his devotion to delete vagrant AIs, was deleted with him. She reached for the drawer handle on her desk, intending to take a cigarette out and smoke it on the sly, even though it wasn't allowed. She then stopped, realising what a mess she was. She couldn't believe that she had attributed Watarai's collapse to overworking and stress. He had mentioned the cat NPC, and she had eventually witnessed what had happened. She looked over at her medication which lay on her desk, and rubbed her eyes again. Magi, no, Saito, would tell her she was also overworking herself. She picked up the headset, putting it back on her head.

_The World, Kamui's office_

"Magi, I want you to get hold of an AI and bring it into the Empty Room." The wavemaster gave her an odd look, convinced that Kamui hadn't been getting her rest. She noticed the look, and quelled any questions. "It is for an...experiment. I wish to see the development of AIs, so I will be able to recognise a developing one and delete it before it causes any havoc." Magi, reassured by the explanation, nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and I would be grateful if you didn't tell the higher ups." Magi, ever obedient, nodded and disappeared in gold rings. Kamui returned to her work, aware that she was lying. I want to observe and interact with the AI, see what it does. I want to see how it could change someone like Watarai so much. She concentrated on typing.

_Net Slums_

Magi's face was twisted in disgust as he looked around. Oh, this place is terrible. It stands against everything the Mistress believes- ah! He noticed a glowing orange orb floating in the air, and touched it. It disappeared, and Magi flash mailed Kamui to tell her it was in the Empty Room.

_Empty Room_

The long arm appeared in the room full of nothing but whiteness, and looked at the orange orb. She then put up a barrier so nobody else could leave or enter, including Magi. She walked forwards, touching the orb, and it began to pulse, a flashing orange light constant. She spoke hesitantly,

"Hello...I'm Kamui." She felt stupid, interacting as if the piece of data was a fellow human. Suddenly, the orb grew into a human shape, and when the light stopped flashing, a very small girl with orange hair and orange eyes looked up at her, the orange dress a piece of clothing Kamui had never seen on a PC before. The girl looked up at her dependently, and Kamui felt a slight pang of a maternal instinct. She dared herself to pick up the toddler, and did so reluctantly. The girl spoke,

"Ka...mu...i...Mama?" Kamui allowed herself a smile as the girl repeated her name.

"No, I'm not your mother...I'm..." The girl looked at her fearfully.

"Obasan?" Kamui smiled again, this time involuntarily, and nodded.

"Yes, that's right. Obasan Kamui." She heard a ping, and saw an urgent flash mail from Magi. She sighed, and spoke again, sadly, "Obasan Kamui must go now. But Obasan Kamui will be back." A crystal screen appeared before her, and she programmed the room. The screen closed, and suddenly the room transformed into a playroom. "Play with the toys while you wait." She put the little girl down, and the girl hugged the long arm for a minute, before releasing her and running over the fluffy carpet towards a huge toybox. Kamui disappeared in a hail of golden rings.

_Real World_

Saki Shibayama smiled, and then realised she was growing attached to it. She shook her head to clear them of her thoughts, and then realised she should have taken her medication a while ago. However, she didn't feel as if she needed it. She ususally depended on it. She didn't feel the addiction to tobacco pulling at her as strongly, and she wondered if she was finally getting better...


End file.
